Image by Getty Images

None of the Ramones were the most dedicated students, preferring to rock out than to attend classes. But come Sunday, the news site DNAInfo reported, the street in front of the place where the four original members met, Forest Hills High School, will be renamed ‘Ramones Way’ in honor of the innovative punk rock band.

The honor comes at the behest of City Council Karen Koslowitz, who convinced City Hall to rename the intersection, located at 67th Avenue and 110th Street in Queens. Before they were the Ramones, Jeffrey Hyman (Joey Ramone), Thomas Erdelyi (Tommy Ramone), Douglas Colvin (Dee Dee Ramone), and John Cummings (Johnny Ramone) — walked past that corner on the regular as they went to high school in the late ‘60’s.

After some false starts, the band rocketed to huge commercial success in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s, adding a few members along the way. Classics include “Rockaway Beach,” “Blitzkrieg Bop,” and “I Wanna Be Sedated.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Mickey Leigh, a fellow rocker and Joey Ramone’s brother, praised the renaming move on Facebook. It’s been a long time coming, and the time has come today,” he wrote. “I’m so THRILLED that it’s actually happening. And, so PROUD of the four guys who made such an amazing impact on the world.”

The original members of the Ramones are now all deceased, having succumbed early to cancer or drug overdose. They’re not the only alums of Forest Hills High to become music greats — Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel attended the school in the ‘50’s.

Leigh thanked Ramones fans and local politicians for the honor.

“I’m thankful, not only to our neighborhood friends, but to the global legion of Ramones fans for supporting and urging me to persist in nudging the community board and Queens council people to make this happen,” he wrote.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter –@DanielJSolomon

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re near the end of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount